Coin selector



July 22, 1941. B. E. MILLS com SELECTOR Filed Oct. 1. 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l fie [2.

July 22, 1941. B. E. MILLS coin SELECTOR Filed Oct. 1, 1957 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 f H I. 3 a H 3 M M 0 I n% J Patented July 22, 1941 I UNITED..- STATES PATENT OFFICE com snLnc'ron Bert E. Mills, Oak Park, n1., assignor to Mills Novelty Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application October 1, 1931, Serial No. 166,763

- 3 Claims.

, coins of other materials also, is directed primarily to a device for selecting U ted States nickels and rejecting counterfeit nickels and all other types of slugs, checks, and counterfeit coins.

The invention employs the principle of droping the coin upon a member from which it will rebound, acceptable coins'being adapted to rebound over av barrier, and rejected coins being stopped by the barrier or otherwise prevented from passing into the acceptable coin outlet.

An object of the invention is to provide, in a selector of this typ a concentrated field of magnetic flux in immediate association with the re- 20.

bound member, for arresting the rebound of coins of high conductivity, such as copper, silver, or brass. In contrast to prior devices in which the coin is subjected to the influence of the magnetic field, either prior or subsequent torebound, to control the position of ultimate delivery of the coin, the present invention aims to check the rebound of a coin or such material, in the immediate vicinity of the rebound. I find that there are advantages in doing so. Forinstance,

the speed of the coin is at a maximum at the point of rebound in view of the fact that the coin will constantly accelerate as it falls toward the rebound member. The amount of arresting force set up by the passage of the coin through the v magnetic field, will be proportional to the speed. By employing the arresting influence ,of the magnetic field at the point of greatest vertical declin ation, it is therefore possible to secure greater effect and consequently greater selectivity than is the case where the arresting influence of the magnetic field is applied at some more nearly horizontal portion of the trajectory.

The chief advantage, however, lies in the fact that the coin is subjected to the action of the magnetic field twice, once just prior to the rebound and once just after the rebound. The magnetic field is so arranged with respect to the rebound member that the coin passes through the center of the field before it contacts the rebound member, and then, in rebounding, again passes through the center of the field in the opposite direction.

' In contrast to prior devices, in which both acceptable and unacceptable coins rebound in the same direction of horizontal travel, but at varying distances from the point of rebound, thepresent inventionprovides for the acceptable coins continuing after rebound in the initial direction of horizontal travel while the unacceptable coins, checks, etc. reverse their direction of 7 horizontal travel after rebound, and pass out of the device on the opposite side of the bouncing anvil or rebound member from that on which the acceptable coins leave the device.

v To this end, the rebound face of the anvil or rebound member is inclined upwardly in the direction of horizontal travel of the coin prior to rebound, and the trajectory of the deliveryof. the coin to the anvil'and the inclination oi the rebound face are so'related to each other and to the horizontal and to the rate of travel of the coin that acceptable coins will rebound toward the high side of the rebound face and clear the same, whereas unacceptable coins, failing to do so, will roll back down the incline of said face to the rejection outlet.

The barrier used in connection with the pres-- ent invention is located adjacent the high side of the anvil and serves to turn back certain of the unacceptable coins so as to cause them to reverse their direction of travel and roll back across the anvil.

Another object of the invention is to providea novel anti-tilt mechanism adapted to obstruct the coin passage in the event that the device is tilted out of its proper position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel means for eliminating under-sized coins prior to subjecting the coins to the action of the material-testing mechanism.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the selector embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a similar view, parts being removed and shown in section to show the interior of the device; and r Figure 3 is a horizontal, sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

In Figure 1 I have shown the selector in connection with a pair of chutes i0 and -II for receiving the acceptable and unacceptable coins, respectively. The inlet where the customer introduces the coin to the selector is shown at II.

The various passages in the selector are formed between a base plate i3 and a series of chute members l4, l5, and I6, secured to the plate I 3 and spaced therefrom in the same plane, and a scavenger chute member I'I secured to the plate l3 in a plane beyond that of the members l4, l5, and I8.

The coins, after passing through the inlet l2 in the chute l4, will drop through the inlet passage l8 (Figure 2) in the chute member l4, in a path indicated by the broken line 20, into the first lateral passage 2|, in which ferrous slugs rotating in a clockwise direction as a result of rolling through the passage 2|, and will therefore stop dead before rolling down the inclined edge of the block 45.

The block 45 is'secured by screws 46 to the plate l3. The upper edge of the block 45 terminates at 41 so as to deliver coins in a freely falling, downwardly and laterally inclined trajectory 48 upon the anvil or rebound member 49.

The anvil is mounted upon a shaft 50 and the angle of inclination of its upper face may be adjusted by rotating it around said shaft.

The face 5| intersects the trajectory 48 so as Y to form the rebound surface, and is inclined upwardly in the direction of horizontal travel of the coin in the trajectory 48. The inclination from the horizontal is slight enough so that acceptable coins willrebound in a trajectory 52 continuing in the samedire'ction of horizontal travel as the trajectory 48. Other coins will tend to bounce in the same direction, but due to insuflicient resiliency or being retarded, as will hereinafter be more fully'described, will fail to clear the bar-' rier 53 located beyond the higher end of the face 5| in-a position to be cleared by the acceptable coins.

The acceptable coins (nickels) will, after clearing the barrier 53, drop through the acceptable coin outlet passage 54 formed by the chute member l5, and into the acceptable coin chute l0.

Nickels have a fairly high coemcient of resiliency and will rebound so as to clear the barrier 53. In doing so, they pass through a concentrated field of magnetic flux created between the poles of opposed horseshoe magnets 55 at the point of rebound, indicated by the numeral 56,

' being relatively unaffected by said magnetic field.

Slugs of lead or copper material also are relatively unaffected by the magnetic field, but their coemcient of resiliency is so low that they will have very little rebound, and will either stop substantially dead on the anvil and thence roll back into the rejection outlet 51, or if they should travel far enough to contact the barrier 53, will be turned back-by the barrier and will roll back down the inclined face 5| and into the rejection outlet 51.

Coins of silver, brass, or copper, although havingsumcient resiliency to otherwise clear the barrier 53, will be sumciently retarded by the opposing force set up by the creation within said coins of eddy currents formed by the cutting of the lines of force of the magnetic field, so that the rebound will be insuflicient to carry such coins therefore be turned back by the barrier and will roll down the inclined-face 5| into the rejection outlet 51.

'It will be noted that the'magnets 55 are set at such an angle and so positioned that the lower extremity of the trajectory 48 is substantially parallel to'the pole pieces of the magnets 55. Thus the coin traverses the magnetic field for an appreciable distance substantiallyalong the center of said field, where concentration of ,magnetic flux is at a maximum.

The various chute members l5, l6, and I! are secured to the plate l3 by means of ears 58 and rivets 58.

The chute member spaced from the plate define the side edges of i9 leading downwardly first lateral passageway 2|. The passage 2| is defined between the upper edge 23 of the block 24, secured to the plate l3, a scavenger door 25, and a sweeper panel 21 of thin, flexible metal, rigid with the door 25 and adapted to swing laterally therewith when the scavenger shaft 26 is oscillated for a scavenging operation,

A horseshoe magnet 28, mounted on the rear side of the plate l3 behind the passage 2|, arrests and holds slugs of iron or other paramagnetic material, and the scavenger gate 25 and I4 comprises a fiat plate the vertical inlet passage sweeper panel 21 serve to transfer such slugsv laterally from the plane of the chute,22 to the plane of the scavenger chute I 1. Being thus swept from the upper edge 23 of the block 24, these slugs will drop into the, scavenger chute 81, travel down the inclined bottom 29 thereof. and thence drop through the vertical leg 30 thereof into the rejection chute H.

The scavenger shaft. 26 is oscillated by means of a lever 3| attached to one end thereof, said arm carrying at its outer end a pin 32 adapted to be connected to a suitable scavenger operating lin k, not shown. The shaft 26 is journaled in brackets 33 formed integrally on the plate l3. The gate 25 and sweeper plate 21 tend to spring outwardly, are normally restrained by cams 26a mounted in the shaft 26, and are released when such cams are swung to inoperative position by oscillation of the shaft 26.

The chute member l5 has an integral flange 34. curving upwardly and forwardly at 35 to form the upper and side edge boundaries of vertical coin passage 36, the upper end of which forms a continuation of the first lateral passage 2|. The inner side of the passage 36 is open except for a dividing member 31 and a spacer block 38 just below the member 37. A coin of properdiameter will, after leaving the end of the block 24, travel in the trajectory 39, dropping upon the dividing member 31 at a sufliciently advanced point to continue into the vertical leg of the chute 36. A coin of insufficient diameter will be arrested by thesmall coin-eliminating device 80. which will hereinafter be described in detail, and will thence be swept off the corner of the block 24 by the scavenger door 25 and sweeper panel 21 into the scavenger chute H.

The inner side of the'scavenger chute ll below the block 24 is formed by a partition wall 4| which separates the scavenger chute laterally from the passage 35, and the delivery passage 42 forming a iateral'continuation of the lower end of the latter. The upper region of the partition wall is inclined at 43 through an opening 44 in the l3 by spacers l8 which from the inlet I2 to the plate, l3 so as to divert coins swept laterally off the corner of the block 24 into the scavenger chute.. i

The magnets 55 are contained within shells 60 of diamagnetic-material having flanges 6| secured by screws 62 to filler block 63 and strap 64.

The anti-tilt device comprises a pendulum 65.

having an arm 66 pivoted at 61 to the plate l3, and a finger 68 provided with ears 68 pivoted at 16 upon a bracket II secured to the plate l3. An opening 12 in an extension of one of the ears 69 receives the arm 66 of the pendulum. Normally the arm 66 engages the ear on one side of the opening "so as to hold the stop 13 of the finger 68 against the plate l3. In this position, the end of the finger 68 will lie in a plane outside of that of the coin passage 54. In the event the selector is tilted in an attempt to fraudulently change the operation thereof, the arm 66 will swing laterally, engage the ear 69 on the other side of the opening I2, and swing the finger 68 around the pivot Ill so as to cause the end of the finger 68 to enter the passage 54 through the opening 14 in the plate l3 above the barrier 53 in the path of rebound of a coin, and turn back the same into the rejection outlet 51.

The small coin-eliminating device comprises a .gate member 88, having a bell crank arm 8! pivoted at 82 on the plate l3, and a pawl 83 pivoted at 84 on the end of the arm 8| and normally hanging over a notch 85 in the scavenger gate 25 so that as the gate 80 is swung forwardly by an undersized coin, which clears the pawl 83, said pawl will engage and lock in the notch 85 before the coin has cleared the gate 80, whereupon the coin will be restrained from further movement. A proper-sized coin, however, will engage the pawl 83 and swing it laterally sufficiently to clear the notch 85 and the end of the scavenger gate 25 so that the gate 88 may swing clear of the coin.

Another anti-tilt device comprises a pendulum l8 pivoted at 11 to the plate l3 and having an end 18 bent laterally through an opening 19 in the plate l3 and arranged to swing downwardly to lock the gate 80, in the event of tilting.

In the event a slug or coin should become lodged in the region immediately above the anvil 49, it will be dislodged by a kicker I'I' pivoted to one'of the screws 62 and connected by a link 18 to the scavenger arm 3| so as to be operated in unison therewith.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for'clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

. 1. In a coin selector, means to deliver a coin in. a trajectory having a component of horizontal travel, a member having a face against which said coin may rebound, said face intersecting said trajectory and being inclined upwardly in the direction of coin travel at an angle of small degree relative to the horizontal so that the general direction of horizontal travel of the coin will continue the same after as before rebound, a barrier positioned beyond said rebound face in the direction of coin travel, so as to be hurdled by a coin of proper resiliency and conductivity and to arrest a coin of less resiliency or greater conductivity and cause the latter to roll back along said rebound face and be thereby rejected, and means creating a concentrated field of ma netic flux in the immediate vicinity. of rebound to impede the rebound of a coin of excessive conductivity.

2. In a coin selector, means for delivering a coin in a trajectory having a component of horizontal travel, a member having a face intersecting said trajectory and inclined upwardly in the direction of coin travel, the inclination of said face and the relation thereto of said trajectory being such that an acceptable coin will rebound beyond said member in the direction of travel while a non-acceptable coin will roll back along said face and be thereby rejected, and a barrier positioned adjacent the higher end of said face, in a position to be cleared by acceptable coins and to arrest a coin of insuflicient rebound and cause the same to roll back across said face.

3. In a coin selector, means for de1ivering a coin in a trajectory having a component of horizontal travel, a member having a face intersecting said trajectory and inclined upwardly in the direction of coin travel, the inclination of said face and the relation thereto of said trajectory being such that an acceptable coin will rebound beyond said member in the direction of travel while a non-acceptable coin will roll back along said face and be thereby rejected, and a barrier positioned adjacentthe higher end of said face, above the plane thereof and spaced from. said member a; distance less than the diameter of any unacceptable coin, in a position to be cleared by acceptable coins and to arrest a coin of insufficient rebound and cause the same to roll back across said face.

' BERT E. MILLS. 

